In the past few years, the approach to online marketing for businesses has barely changed: build a website, invest in keyword ads, publish a few press releases, and then wait for inquiry calls. But from 2024 to 2025, this playbook has clearly stopped working. Ad slots on Baidu's search results pages are shrinking, and users are now accustomed to searching on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, or even asking AI assistants directly, 'Which brand of XX is reliable?' The fragmentation of traffic sources has left many SME owners anxious: they still spend money, but leads are dwindling.
As a digital marketing service provider serving SMEs nationwide, Yunxuan Network Technology has felt this shift deeply. We receive inquiries from clients across the country every day, and the questions are strikingly similar: Why is bid management not working? How can local brick-and-mortar stores acquire customers on Douyin? Will AI search render traditional SEO useless? Behind these questions lies a fundamental change in the industry's logic. In this article, Yunxuan Network Technology aims to share our insights on trends and our coping strategies from a service provider's perspective, hoping to help more businesses gain clarity.
1. The Decentralization of Search Engines: A New Battleground for SME Customer Acquisition
Many business owners have yet to realize that Baidu is no longer the only search gateway. Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat Search, and even Taobao are all eroding search market share. User behavior has shifted from 'open a browser and search' to 'search wherever you see it in an app.' This decentralization means that if a business only relies on Baidu bidding, it is essentially abandoning a vast pool of potential customers.
For SMEs, this is both bad news and good news. The bad news is that the old model of 'invest in Baidu and wait for calls' is gone. The good news is that with more traffic entrances, businesses can combine channels strategically and avoid being held hostage by a single platform. When devising comprehensive online marketing plans, Yunxuan Network Technology typically advises clients to match channels based on industry characteristics. For example, B2B manufacturing enterprises should focus on Baidu plus industry vertical platforms and AI search optimization; local lifestyle businesses should prioritize Douyin, Amap, and Meituan; and trading and distribution companies should consider a combination of Xiaohongshu and search engines.
However, this does not mean businesses should blindly spread themselves across all channels. Our experience shows that SMEs lack not channel quantity but the ability to judge each channel's ROI. Many clients have tried to manage multiple platforms simultaneously, only to end up with 'zombie accounts' due to a lack of professional content creation and data analysis capabilities. Entrusting professional tasks to professional teams is not just a cliché; it is the optimal way to save on trial-and-error costs.
2. Bid Management Enters the 'Pay-for-Performance' Era: Crude Spending Is Dead
The term 'bid management' is familiar to many business owners. In the past, when hiring an agency, they would provide a monthly report listing clicks, spend, and impressions, but when asked, 'How many effective inquiries did these clicks bring?' they would become evasive. This kind of crude management is being phased out by the market.
The current bidding environment is completely different. The backend of Baidu promotion has become increasingly complex, requiring fine-tuning of audience targeting, intent keywords, negative keywords, and OCPC intelligent bidding. More critically, users have become more immune to ads. If the landing page experience is poor and content is unattractive, even paid clicks will not retain visitors.
When Yunxuan Network Technology handles bid management for clients nationwide, we adhere to one principle: not clicks as the KPI, but the cost per inquiry as the benchmark. We once served a machinery equipment manufacturer in Foshan, Guangdong. Before we took over, they were spending over 20,000 RMB per month on Baidu promotion but receiving fewer than 10 effective inquiries. The first thing we did was not to adjust bids but to rebuild the landing page, highlighting core product selling points, adding customer cases and factory videos, and designing online inquiry and callback forms. Then we adjusted keyword matching to eliminate irrelevant search terms. Three months later, the client's monthly inquiries stabilized at over 40, and the cost per acquisition dropped by nearly 60%.
This case illustrates that bid management is not simply 'adjusting the backend' but a systematic project involving strategy, creative, landing pages, and data tracking. If businesses only look at front-end spending and ignore back-end conversions, they can easily be misled by data illusions. When selecting a service provider, it is advisable to prioritize those that offer full-funnel services and are willing to include 'effective inquiry count' in the contract.
3. The Rise of AI Search: GEO Optimization Becomes a New Variable for Customer Acquisition
If the biggest variable in previous years was feed advertising, then in 2025, the most unignorable variable is AI search. With the proliferation of AI products like Doubao, Tongyi Qianwen, and DeepSeek, more users are getting used to 'asking questions' instead of 'searching.' For example, a purchasing manager might ask AI: 'Which domestic stainless steel pipe manufacturers are of good quality?' If AI's answer mentions your brand, you have essentially gained a free high-intent customer entry point.
This is the value of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). The biggest difference between GEO and traditional SEO is that traditional SEO optimizes a webpage's ranking in search results, while GEO optimizes the probability that brand information is captured, cited, and recommended by AI models. When AI generates answers, it typically only cites content it deems authoritative, relevant, and well-structured. If a business's online information is scattered, negative, or missing, AI will find it difficult to give positive recommendations.
Yunxuan Network Technology is one of the early adopters of GEO optimization in China. Our approach is to first conduct a comprehensive brand information audit for clients, checking how frequently and in what context the brand is mentioned when asked on mainstream AI platforms. Then, we produce high-quality knowledge-based content around product terms, industry terms, and scenario terms, and publish it on high-authority platforms. We also optimize the semantic structure of the official website to make it easier for AI crawlers to understand the business's core offerings and advantages. After several months of continuous operation, a Dongguan electronic components company we served saw a nearly threefold increase in the probability of being recommended in AI search, and precise inquiries from this channel accounted for over 20% of total inquiries.
Of course, GEO optimization is not a one-shot deal. It requires content accumulation, technical coordination, and continuous monitoring. But one thing is certain: in the next two to three years, AI search will become a major battleground for customer acquisition. Businesses that enter now will gain a first-mover advantage.
4. Local Customer Acquisition: A Breakthrough for Brick-and-Mortar Stores and Regional Enterprises
After discussing nationwide customer acquisition, let's turn to local customer acquisition. Many brick-and-mortar stores and regional enterprises believe that since their service scope is just a few kilometers around them, online marketing is meaningless. This might have been true a decade ago, but today, the online rate of local life services is very high. When users look for a restaurant, a renovation company, or a repair shop, their first instinct is to search for reviews and reputation on maps or short-video platforms.
Yunxuan Network Technology has served numerous local businesses in Zhanjiang, including restaurants, auto repair shops, building materials suppliers, and education and training institutions. We have found that many merchants are not unwilling to go online but do not know where to start. Some stores have group-buying deals on Meituan, but with blurry images and unattractive copy, they naturally get no clicks. Some stores have posted a few videos on Douyin, but the content is messy and lacks a consistent persona. These issues can all be improved through professional operation.
Our local customer acquisition plan typically includes several modules: first, local search optimization, including listing and review management on Amap and Baidu Maps; second, short-video content creation, producing a series of videos around store environment, product features, and customer cases, and publishing them on Douyin and WeChat Channels; third, collaboration with local KOLs, selecting local influencers with small but highly engaged followings for store visits, which is often more effective than hard advertising.
Take a local decoration company in Zhanjiang we served as an example. They previously relied mainly on referrals, leading to unstable customer acquisition. We developed a local life promotion plan for them, filmed over 20 short videos featuring construction site footage and renovation knowledge, and optimized their store information on Amap. Three months later, inquiries from online channels accounted for 40% of total customers, and the quality of these customers was high, with significantly improved conversion rates. This case demonstrates that local customer acquisition is not exclusive to big cities; with professional operational methods, merchants in small cities can also reap the benefits of going online.
5. Corporate Websites and AI Agents: The 'New Facade' for Converting Traffic
Whether it's bidding, SEO, or GEO, the traffic ultimately needs a landing point. Many business owners think that since customers now communicate directly on e-commerce platforms or WeChat, a website is optional. The answer is no. The website remains the core platform for showcasing brand image, hosting content marketing, and building customer trust. However, the form of the website is evolving.
Traditional websites are 'static business cards,' where customers have to find contact information themselves. The new generation of websites should be 'intelligent receptionists' that can automatically answer customer questions, collect leads, and even guide customers to leave their information. When Yunxuan Network Technology develops custom websites, we embed AI agents. For example, when a user visits the site and stays for more than 10 seconds, an AI assistant pops up and asks, 'Hello, which product would you like to learn about?' Using preset professional scripts, the AI can answer most common questions and obtain the customer's contact information during the conversation. If the question exceeds the AI's capabilities, the system immediately notifies a human agent to take over.
We once served a trading company that sells industrial consumables. Their customers often browsed the website at night. In the past, without online customer service, many nighttime visitors were lost. After launching the AI agent, the lead capture rate for nighttime inquiries increased by 35%, and the AI could automatically tag customers for easier follow-up by sales. This case tells us that technology is not cold; when used well, it translates into tangible performance.
6. How Should SMEs Choose the Right Marketing Mix?
After all this, many business owners may ask: So what should I do now? Yunxuan Network Technology's advice is not to blindly follow trends but to plan in stages based on your own situation.
For SMEs with limited budgets and just starting out, we recommend prioritizing two things: first, bid management, because it delivers quick results and can quickly validate product-market fit; second, website construction, as it is the foundation for all marketing efforts. Once you have some accumulation, gradually incorporate SEO and GEO optimization to increase the share of organic traffic. For local brick-and-mortar businesses, focus on local life platforms and short videos, first making people within a 3-5 kilometer radius aware of you, then leveraging word-of-mouth for growth.
If a business lacks an in-house team, consider a full-service provider like Yunxuan Network Technology. We offer one-stop management from website building, promotion, AI tools, to GEO optimization. Businesses only need to focus on their products and management; we handle the rest. Our clients are spread across the country, including manufacturing enterprises in coastal regions like Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, as well as trading companies and local stores in central and western regions. No matter where our clients are located, we provide the same standard of service.
Of course, when choosing a service provider, be discerning. Check whether they have real case data, whether they are willing to clearly outline service terms, and whether they possess technical development capabilities. Companies that only boast about 'guaranteed top rankings' are often unreliable.
Conclusion
The underlying logic of online marketing has never changed: use the right content, on the right channels, to reach the right customers. What has changed are the channels and forms. Bid management, SEO, GEO, and feed advertising are all tools, and tools only deliver maximum value when used in combination. Yunxuan Network Technology has been deeply involved in the internet industry for 20 years, serving thousands of SMEs. We understand that every customer acquisition is hard-won. In the future, we will continue to empower growth with technology and create value through marketing, helping more enterprises nationwide achieve low-cost, high-efficiency customer growth. If you are struggling with customer acquisition, feel free to contact us for a chat. Perhaps a professional suggestion can open up a new situation.